Rant

Rant time...

Kids now a days are being tested on every level.  Are they smart enough for preschool?  Have they sat up at 4 months?  Do they read at grade level?  Have they completed AB & C by the time they are 3 years old?

Oh they haven't??  Well, then I'm sorry but your child has failed.  And in return you, the parent, are deemed a failure too.

When did it get this way??  Why so much pressure on our kids to be this or that?  Why do all 4 year olds have to fit in exactly the same box?

Well--let me tell you--the one thing I learned through homeschooling my kids for 15 years is that

KIDS DO NOT ALL ACHIEVE THE SAME GOALS AT THE SAME TIME!

ALL KIDS ARE DIFFERENT!

KIDS LEARN DIFFERENTLY! KIDS HAVE DIFFERENT STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES!

Mommas know their kids.  We are around them so much more than anyone else.  The persons or institution administering the "test"  only sees them for a few minutes.  How can they define a person by just those few minutes?

Why do all 5 year olds need to read at a certain level?  Do all 40 year olds read at the same level?

Kids will excel in some areas and not be that great in other areas.  Aren't we all like that?  Don't we all have our strengths and weaknesses?  Can't we ALL grow in different areas?

Please, parents,  I caution you against measuring yourself and your kids against all these parameters that SOMEONE HAS JUST MADE UP!  Who decided what a 6 year old should be reading like?  Who made up all these "standards"?

We know our kids!  Let's not compare and pressure.  Let's be good mommas and daddies.  Let's love our kids regardless of how well they can jump through someone else's hoops.  Let's love our kids for the joys that they are!  Let's love our kids for who God has made them to be!  

Be encouraged!!  You are doing a great job parents!!  You're kids are doing good too!  

--rant over.......for now.

Summer Goings On

So summer is over..fall is just around the corner, which is hard to believe since it's in the 90s still!

So what have we done all summer? Here's some of what we've be up to .. in no particular order....

Took a weekend vacation to Phoenix on a whim!  So much fun with my hubby!

Went to Denver and Pittsburgh (on 2 separate trips)  to see some life long friends.

Larry got to take some one on one time with each son.  One in Utah, exploring Zion National Park and the surrounding lands of amazingness!  And the other in Virginia, where he got to spend a weekend with our son who took some leave time off base!

On the not-so-fun-note but extremely-interesting note, I got to serve on a jury for a week.  Very interesting how our justice system works.  I'm not saying I agree, but very interesting.  Learned alot about the world that I really didn't care to know.  Maybe another blog post later...

Larry and I got electric bikes that we are loving (when it's not too hot outside!)

I'm getting back to eating a high fat, low carb diet and working really hard on meeting my step goal each day! Losing weight and getting back in shape!

Finished memorized Philippians 1.  Working on Chapter 2. It's quite the brain building feat..but it's good not only for mind but for my soul.

Larry and I are enjoying our little empty nest and our new and growing relationship with our grown kids.

We got to take a wonderful trip to San Diego to attend our son's graduation from Marine Bootcamp!  So happy for him!

We are about to take a cruise out of Puerto Rico!  So excited to spend time with friends and enjoy some relaxation in the sun!

I guess you can say it's like this:  traveling, enjoying, visiting,  memorizing, cruising, growing, walking, graduating, loving!

Living a Surreal life

Definition---Surreal:  Having the disorienting quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic

My youngest son turned 19 today.  Nineteen!!  My YOUNGEST!  How this is possible I'll never know.  Surreal is a great definition to describe it. In some ways it seems like just yesterday I was chasing them all around, picking up all their messes, changing endless amounts of diapers; but in other ways those days seem so long ago I can barely remember it!

Someone once described the baby stage as the "Longest days, and the shortest years".

That about covers it.

I'm super excited about the paths my kids are choosing.  It seems like they are right on target.  They are in the fields for which they are made.

Larry and I are thoroughly enjoying our little empty nest.  It's really quiet at times.  But we are getting to know each other again.  Learning to enjoy the quiet.  The grand kids stage will be coming soon enough and I look forward to that.

While I may be further ahead on the parenting journey than some, and way behind of others, I would love to share my ups and downs with whomever would like to hear.

If you need encouragement for THOSE days, I can help.  If you need a ear to hear and just let off steam, I can do that.  If you need some advice for some problem that you are facing, I can do my best.

That's what we are supposed to do.  Sharpen each other.  Keep each other accountable.  Spur each other on to love and good deeds.

I know I need it... ALOT.

um...Hello? now what?!

Kids now a days!  (And by kids I mean anyone under 30)  They've lost a few basic manners somehow along the way, or were never taught them.

So here's a few basic manners to teach your young 'uns.  Please!  Before the art of basic human interaction is lost forever!

1. Look me in the eyes.  Yes, I know your phone just buzzed and there's some major crisis out there...like a facebook notification.  But please--just look me directly in the eyes when you are speaking to me.
2. When introducing someone to me, please give me their name!  "This is my girlfriend"...where do I go with that..."Hello, girlfriend!".... Proper manners.. Say the person's name you are introducing them to and say the person's name you are introducing.  Example:  Hello, Valerie, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Denise.
3. After being properly introduced, try to at least pretend to be interested in this person.  Although genuine concern is greatly appreciated.  Example:  Hello, Valerie!  It's so good to meet you!  My boyfriend has told me lots about you!  It's very good to meet you!
4. Try to find something to talk about.  It's polite to stay a few minutes (seconds) and at least get to know something about them.  Example:  Valerie- I hear you are from Arlington,  have you ever been to Six Flags?  I've always wanted to go!  Note: This does involve knowing some things about the world in general.
5. Please put away your phone while people are around.  Try to interact with the people around you.  
6. Ask questions about the other person.  Example:  What do you like to do for fun?  Do you play board games?  Where did you vacation last?  Showing interest in others is not only polite but you may get to know something about them!

This is just the very basic when meeting a person for the first time.  I've noticed more and more people now a days just don't understand how to interact with other people!  If there's not a Like button or a comment button on them they aren't sure what to do!

People are interesting!  People are fun!  Let's get back to real time interaction and not just screen time.  Anyone else experienced this madness??

For Better or Worse

The traditional American Wedding Vows:

"I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith [or] pledge myself to you."

Seems simple enough.

But I don't think most people have a clue what they are committing to or the depth of these vows.

If there was anyway to make these vows "real life" to people at the altar...how could we put it into words?

"...to have and to hold from this day forward" -- Oh this sounds nice, the having and the holding...  but just wait....

"for better, for worse"  -- The "better" we love!  Yeah!  Gimme some more of those days where we eat ice cream, bike to the park together, watch a thunderstorm, snuggle up by a fire and enjoy the night.  The "worse". Yuck.  How worse?  What about when family members and friends push you aside? Or your kids are out of control? What about when every moment of the day is filled with unimaginable emotional pain from kids, or others, or each other, or life in general?

"for richer, for poorer"  --  Richer sounds good.  Poorer, not so much.  How poor?  What will we lose?  What will we suffer?

"in sickness and in health"  --Well, the other day my hubby was holding me up in the bathtub has I was losing my lunch at both ends.  TMI - I know.  But these are the days no one wants to talk about or think about enduring.  What about those moments of extreme sickness, cancer, Alzheimer's?  What about morning sickness?  What about when the kids are all throwing up on you?  It's disgusting, I know, but this stuff actually happens.  

"to love and to cherish" -- Ah, well this sounds nice anyway.  Cue the singing birds.  Oh wait,  my hubby's not very loveable at the moment..what?  still cherish?  You mean I'M not very lovable at the moment?  Oh dear, more work to do.

"till death do us part" --  Oh, sure. I can do that.  Wait, till death!  Isn't that a long time away??  I got married when I was 18!  If you mean DEATH..then it may be 60 or 70 years!  With the SAME person!  

So here's my proposed new wedding vows:

I will be committed to you till the day I day.  Forsaking all others, I will be only yours.  I promise to be there when it's fun and not so fun.  I will be by your side when we are happy and not so happy.  I will be your cheerer, encourager, helper, and more.  When you are sick and helpless, I will help you. When the bank account is running on empty, I will help to save and scrimp and eat beans and rice. When the kids are yelling and my head is about to burst, I will still be here.  I may not always be the happy, calm person that I need to be but with your help and the help of Jesus, I will strive to be that person.  Putting God at the center of our marriage is my top priority.  Without Him, we can not do this journey.  

I love you bunches, Larry. 

Memories of Road Trips

When I was growing up, things were a lot different.  We didn't have smart phones, or even dumb phones that could leave our house!  There wasn't any Netflix or movies on demand. If we wanted to watch TV we had to watch what was on at the time.  (No DVRs --can you imagine!)

We had to do things differently.

Now, I'm not bashing technology.  I actually love social media, and the world of knowledge at my fingertips!  But back when I was growing up, and even while my kids were little, we had to come up with creative ways to entertain ourselves!

One of the great memories I have from the days of old were the car games.  The games we played in the backseat to entertain ourselves on long trips.  We used to sing all kinds of songs.  Not pop songs. But the good ol' folk songs.  My dad knew all the words to every verse and a lot of them have stuck with me.

There was also count the cows and horses.  That got old after a while because if we drove the same route we knew where the cemeteries were.  And of course if you were winning at the game (counting as many cows and horses as you could on your side of the car) as soon as you passed a graveyard you had to start all over again.

Slug bug was never my favorite either.  Not a fan of getting punched.

As I grew up, and when we were young marrieds, we took many long road trips together.  A great game Larry and I made up was the backward word game.  One person would say a word backward and the other person would have to guess what they were saying!  It's tougher than you think!  Try ssarg!

When the kids were little we would play lots of games in the car, I Spy, Bingo, A-Z game and many more.  There was always lots of singing and laughter too.

Since summer is just around the bend, maybe it's time to put away the ipads, ipods, i-distractions and get back to some good ol' fashioned family time.

Spring has Sprung!

Just when the winter is about to crawl under my skin and get really annoying..there's a glimmer of spring!  The next season is just around the corner!

I can feel it in the air and see it in the trees!
The pear trees are blooming!
The flowers are starting to sprout!
The birds are chirping!
I love spring time.
It's a time of renewal and refreshing.

There's so many changes going on right now.  Spring feels like it's opening the door to a new chapter in my life.  I love the seasons changing! It gets my creative juices flowing!

One of the things I used to love doing with the kids was writing poems.  One of my favorite memories of homeschooling was when it was a beautiful day outside and we all packed up a picnic lunch and went to the park.  We flew kites and wrote haikus.  Haikus are so fun to write! If you don't know anything about them check them out !  Maybe you will be inspired to write a few poems too!

Here's a few I've written this morning:

The sun is awake

Coming up into the sky

Staying up later

Birds singing today

Up in the trees so pretty

I just saw a butterfly!

Flowers colorful

Trees blooming making me sneeze

Spring is happening!

Winter goes to sleep

Closing its eyes grudgingly

Back under the Earth

It's time for hooping

Once again barefoot with friends

It's my circle time!

So as we pack away the winter coats and scarves and enjoy the sunshine once again, be inspired to be creative and learn something new!  Do something adventurous!  Enjoy Life!